This Twentysomething Woman Just Gave Birth in a Revolutionary New Way

A 27-year-old Belgian woman just became the first person to give birth to a baby after having her ability to get pregnant restored via an ovarian tissue transplant from tissue she had as a child, The Guardian reports.

The unnamed patient, who gave birth to a baby boy in November, previously suffered from severe sickle cell anemia at the age of 5 and was told at 11 years old that she needed a bone marrow transplant, which involved disabling her immune system via chemotherapy. Fortunately, before the chemotherapy started, doctors removed her right ovary when she was 13 years old and had not yet started her period, but had begun puberty. Later, when she was 23 years old, she told her doctors she wanted to try to have a child and they were able to take the thawed ovarian tissue and graft it on her remaining ovary.

She was then able to conceive naturally, since the transplant allowed her to begin ovulating about five months later.

Doctors are incredibly excited by the woman's case, as it could mean the ability to restore fertility for many women who were given medical treatments in childhood that damaged their ovaries. Isabelle Demeestere, the gynecologist who led the trial said, "It proves that immature tissue can be transplanted in adult patients. Even if you put the tissue in an adult environment, it will be activated."

Trial authors say that there may be additional concerns in terms of performing this procedure on adults who survived cancer in childhood, due to potential risks involved in reintroducing cancerous cells into the body during the transplant, but overall, it's a promising development nonetheless.

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